The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill 📚

This is a book about a writer writing a book about a writer writing a book and it’s set in a library. It’s a literary inception! 🤯

Hannah Tigone, a successful Australian author, is writing a book set in Boston. Because of Covid she can’t travel to Boston to do her own research, so as she writes each chapter she sends it to Leo, an acquaintance that lives there so that he can help her with details about the city and Boston slang. We don’t really get to know too much about her because we only read Leo's letters.

The main story of The Woman in the Library is the book that Hannah is writing:

Winifred Kincaid (Freddie) is an Australian writer. Thanks to a scholarship she won, she moved to Boston to write a book. One night, Freddie decides to go to the Boston Public Library to write her mystery novel and get ideas for her characters. She’s sitting at a table in the reading room with three other strangers when they all hear a frightening scream and later a woman is found dead. The four of them get together and end up staying late talking about what happened and exchanging numbers in case they need an alibi. In a matter of days they become close friends but as the plot develops, strange and creepy things keep happening to them and they realize that they don’t really know each other that well.

As Hannah keeps writing her story, she notices that Leo’s behavior starts changing and that she doesn’t really know him either.

Everyone is a suspect in this unputdownable and mind-blowing story! The format of the book is so refreshing; I can’t even remember reading anything like it. I was so intrigued I just wanted to keep reading both storylines at the same time. The author did a great job wrapping up both of the stories perfectly. Plus, the book is set in my favorite library and one of my favorite places in the whole world, the @bplboston , where I’ve spent hours reading and studying.

Do yourself a favor and read this cleverly written story within a story that comes out on June 7. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the gifted ARC.

Four people meet in the Boston Public Library meeting room and an ear-piercing scream turns their world upside down. One Aussie writer, one former prisoner/writer, a spoiled law student and a certified genius are all trying to figure out how who killed the woman in the library. As they strike up a tentative friendship, they each begin to question each other and their motives. One is a killer and three are innocent. Will they figure out who the murderer is before one of them becomes the next victim?

This frame story had a lot of potential, but fell a little flat for me. The story within a story of a fiction writer writing about a fiction writer, just made the plot line more muddled. I think Sulari Gentill would have been better off with the inner story and dropping the outer plot line—just my personal opinion. Each of the inner characters were well written and fully developed, but the frame story just didn’t work for me and only detracted from the mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Sulari Gentill for the advanced copy. The Woman in the Library is out next Tuesday. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book and am thrilled to have discovered author Sulari Gentill. Her website quote perfectly sums her up:

....tells stories...it's outrageous...she just makes things up...

The plot construction of this book is very creative - a story within a story within a story. Hannah, an Australian writer, is writing a mystery set in Boston based on a chance meeting of four people in the Boston Library. The author's alter ego, Freddie, is in Boston on a writing fellowship, and is the first person narrator of the book within the book. Meanwhile, Hannah has a "beta" reader named Leo to whom she sends her chapters as she writes them. Leo dutifully and creatively comments on each chapter with ideas and suggestions for moving the plot and characterizations forward, but as the chapters progress he gets increasingly obsessed and unhinged. Freddie, protagonist of Hannah's book, coincidentally also has a neighbor named Leo.

The plot is put in motion when the four characters in the library hear a scream and become fast friends, bonding over trying to figure out what happened and who might have killed the woman in the library. There are lots of twists and turns. Most of the chapters consist of sparkling dialogue between the various characters, interspersed with email suggestions from her reader, Leo.

I breezed through this in a couple of days and am sure it will be an immediate bestseller. Thanks to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the advanced reader copy.

Four strangers meet in the reading room at Boston Public Library one fateful day when a woman in that very library is murdered. The four form a bond with each other but it starts to become apparent that one of them is perhaps the murderer. The twist? Well, you’ll just have to find out for yourself.
Thank you Netgalley, Sulari Gentill and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this unique story. This was a book unlike any other I’ve ever read before. It was a little confusing at the start in the way the book was written. This was a book that I had been anticipating and very eager to read. Now that I’ve read it, I’m kind of on the fence about it. The story has a lot of potential, and the premise sounds intriguing but unfortunately the follow through just didn’t hit the mark for me. I think maybe there’s just too many ideas going on simultaneously. I’m rating this 3.75/5 ⭐️

In this mystery within a mystery, Hannah is writing a mystery book about a mystery writer writing a book and solving a murder. Confused? It's easier to follow than it sounds. Weirdly, the frame was modern sounding (and a bit more brutal) while the story inside the frame, which was Hannah's book, not Hannah's character's book, was a bit more cozy almost. The inner mystery was okay, but the outer frame made the whole thing exciting.

I thought this book was totally mesmerizing. I'm normally not a fan of books written in the epistolary formation, but this was only a letter at the end of every chapter. The form of the rest of the book allowed for enough interaction between the characters to keep me happy. Aside from the letters of a man writing to an author, the other part of the book is mostly the transcript of the author's book.

This book starts with a woman's terrified scream in the Boston Public Library that brings four patrons sitting silently at a table to immediate conversation and causes them to form an instantaneous bond of friendship. When later the body of a woman is found in the library, it sends the four on divergent and yet converging paths in trying to figure out exactly who killed the woman. Could it be one of them that is responsible?

This book was almost impossible for me to put down. It is different and entrancing. I loved it!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

4/5! This was such an exciting read and the suspense was super thrilling. I literally could not put it down. Each chapter was so riveting. Highly recommend for the dark academia vibe!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ”The Woman in the Library.”

I found the first few chapters quite confusing but once I got my head around the 'story in a story' aspect of the book I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend!

The woman in the library

First, thanks to @netgalley and the publishers for my e copy in exchange for my honest review.

And here it is. I liked it. It was a fast read and I appreciated that the format was different from what I’ve read before. Basically, it’s a story within a story within a story….

Sulari Gentill gave us two story lines to follow.

The first is letters between Hannah, a writer writing a mystery novel, and a fellow writer/fan, Leo, who is quite free with his advice and suggestions. As the story goes, the relationship gets a wee bit complicated. There are a few covid references that give credence to why she didn’t travel for research and was relying on Leo’s local knowledge but it felt a little forced and too soon (maybe for me it will always be too soon though). I kept waiting for it to connect with the other storyline and felt a little sad when it didn’t, more than the Leo’s reflections on each chapter.

The second is the book that the author is writing. An unlikely group, including a writer (see, story within a story within a story), brought together by their shared experience of being in the library when a murder is committed. They are not just each other’s alibis, they become friends. I was pretty sure I had the murderer pegged early on but the exploration of friendship and redemption kept me reading…and wanting to make sure I was right. I definitely appreciated this storyline more even though I would have liked more “thrill” to the thriller.

I’ve always wondered how an author puts together a story. Where do they get their ideas? What influences them (and who)? What’s the writing process? I enjoyed getting a bit of a glimpse into that world through both story lines.

The Woman in the Library is an interesting take on a story within a story. The exterior story is that of a mystery writer and their beta reader as the writer, Hannah, is handed more and more clues that not everything is how it seems with her friend as she sends Leo chapter by chapter her newest novel. The novel Hannah is working on tell the story of four strangers brought together by a scream they hear in the library. These four are bonded through the mystery of what they heard and the subsequent discovery of a body in the library. The novel within the novel follows the groups developing relationships and investigation as to what they may have witnessed.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the novel within the Woman in the Library. I found the distrust that sewn between the group at various times interesting and each of them had moments of motive and suspicion that moved the book along really well. Gentill played on the readers understanding of tropes and structure really well and it was a fun time. That said. I honestly couldn't stand the epistolary side of this book. I disliked Leo from the start of the book, which at times was the intent of the book, but his emails became sections I would have rather skipped. Had this novel just been one story, that of the murder in the library, I would have had an absolutely great time with this book. Instead, I slogged through half the story.

It was not that the plot of the epistolary wasn't compelling, because I loved the concept of what was happening with Hannah and Leo. I think Gentill pulled off a great idea in that portion of the book. It was that there was no point at which I enjoyed Leo as a narrator that soured me to that whole portion.

I tried to read this book 3 times to start. By the third time I had made it to chapter 7 before I finally decided this just was not for me. I gave it the old try, but the characters were 2 dimensional and the plot line was unbelievable.

Things I liked:
Interesting format
Decent characters
Insight in the process of an author


Things I didn’t like:
Advertised as a closed circle murder mystery, but really shouldn’t have been.
Separate storyline that wasn’t as interesting as the main one


There is quit in an ornate reading room within the Boston Public Library, that is until the tranquillity is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait, 4 strangers sitting at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reason for being in the reading room at that time—it just so happens that one of them is a murderer.

This synopsis sounded so intriguing that upon reading it, this book immediately made my top 10 most anticipated Q2 2022 releases. I absolutely adore closed circle murder mysteries, and from the synopsis it seemed like this one would be set in a library, another bonus for me. Unfortunately the synopsis is quite misleading in my opinion. It did not feel like a closed circle murder mystery, and unfortunately the library played only a small part in the actual story.

What I got instead was a story within a story within a story which could have been very interesting. Each chapter ends with a beta reader sending the author who’s writing a murder mystery tips and advice on the story. This makes it very clear that what you’re reading is fiction. At first it was interesting to see each chapter discussed right after reading it, but for me that got boring fast and it kept taking me out of the story. Now in the actual story we also follow an author, who’s also a murder mystery author, writing a murder mystery while being involved in a murder mystery herself. Are you confused yet? Because I definitely was at the start. Fortunately the author does a good job of keeping the threads separate, so while confusing at first, it does get cleared up pretty fast and doesn’t become convoluted.

The thing about multiple storylines however, is that you run the risk of 1 of those not being as interesting as the others, which is what happened here. I enjoyed following the 4 friends, while their characters felt a bit like stereotypes at time there was enough of a personality on them for me to enjoy. I also liked Winifred’s writing. I am a sucker for books about authors and seeing their processes so this immediately made me enjoy both Winifred and Cain a bit more.

Overall, while the formatting was unique, the mystery wasn’t. I can’t say I predicted the outcome but I am not surprised by it either. The biggest thing this book has going against it, is it being a forced closed circle murder mystery. There is no indication that 1 of the 4 people at the table is the murderer besides the author telling you that 1 of them is. If the author left that part out it could have been a more interesting mystery. There were a few side characters that were quite suspicious, but because the author, on multiple occasions told the reader 1 of the 4 is the murderer you can immediately disregard them as suspects.

What a delightfully metatextual examination of writing in the 21st century! With The Woman In The Library, Sulari Gentill has written a truly thought-provoking novel of what it means to write crime fiction in the present day, of what authors owe posterity and their readers in the on-going endeavor to create plausible stories that entertain while keeping at least one foot grounded in reality.

The core of this novel is the story of four people brought together by a hair-raising scream while they’re all seated in the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library. Our narrator, Freddie, is an Australian author who’s received a fellowship to research her next novel in the United States. She’s idly glancing over her fellow Reading Room occupants and giving them nicknames in her head when a scream rends the air. Forced to stay put while the authorities search the building, the foursome strike up a quick and easy friendship that also inspires Freddie to finally start writing her book:

QUOTE
The story is still coming in waves, surging ideas crashing onto the page faster than I can type. I’ve not yet found actual names for Handsome Man, Heroic Chin, and Freud Girl, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Perhaps it’s because I am not yet ready to diverge them from their inspiration, to stem that momentum of discovery, the excitement of new friendship that seems to form a story of itself. The narrative is strange–unlike anything I’ve written before. The library takes on a consciousness of its own, watchful, patient, dangerous. The scream becomes a motif, an echo of each character’s silent cry for connection and friendship, for help.
END QUOTE

Outside of Freddie’s head, Freud Girl is actually Marigold, a heavily tattooed psychology grad student who seems to be developing a crush on Heroic Chin, or Whit as he’s more commonly known. Whit is doing his best to flunk out of Harvard Law so that he won’t have to follow in his parents’ footsteps and join their law firm. Finally, Handsome Man is Cain, who is also a writer researching his next novel, depicting the life and death of a homeless man surviving on the cold Boston streets. As the foursome begin to build stronger relationships based on their initial rapport, they’re each excited to have found genuine new friends. Trouble is, one of them is a murderer.

As the story builds, we’re made aware that Freddie’s tale is actually a fiction created by the renowned Australian author Hannah Tigone. Further, while Hannah is stuck in pandemic lockdown in Australia, she’s in direct correspondence with a Bostonian fan who’s more than happy to help research her setting. Leo starts out friendly, if a little pushy, often offering unsolicited advice as he reads each of the chapters she sends. Some of this advice is actually quite canny, as when he’s talking with Hannah about race or about COVID-19 :

QUOTE
I notice that you have not once in this novel made any reference to the global pandemic. I understand of course. We’re all sick of it and all it entails. But I think it is the responsibility of writers to bear witness to the darkness as well as the light. Without any mention of the virus, your novel risks being dated before it’s released.

You could of course be setting this novel in the future, at a time when all this is behind us. But if you don’t mind me saying so, that’s exceedingly optimistic. I suspect that a world without disease will need to feature flying cars and victims dispatched by laser guns. Writing a contemporary novel without the pandemic is surely more fantasy than mystery.
END QUOTE

As Freddie’s story grows more and more complicated, so too does Hannah and Leo’s. The cat and mouse games played by the various characters lead to several thrilling surprises, and a tense, satisfying ending for Hannah and Leo’s story. I was a little less clear on what was signified by the end of Freddie’s tale, though I did think that the whodunnit overall was successfully executed.

Most of all, however, I found this to be a wonderfully nimble play on the relationships between writer and reader, and writer and muse. While Ms Gentill is perhaps best known for her terrific Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series, this standalone novel is an excellent addition to her canon, tackling complex literary issues with both wit and panache.

It's a very well-written book within a book with a wonderful epistolary element.... However, I didn't like the ending, and was rather disappointed by the killer's identity and their motives.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman in the Library follows two stories — one, a murder mystery novel in which four characters meet in the Boston Public Library’s Reading Room where a woman’s scream is heard, and then her body is later found; the other, a series of emails sent to the author of the murder mystery by her writing partner.

If there’s one thing I’m definitely Super Obsessed with, it’s the way this book successfully executed two rather fleshed out stories in less than 300 pages. I mean, what a feat! And both stories were equally riveting, and they constantly informed each other. Even if, at the end of the day, there were plenty of clues to lead the reader in the exact right direction to the resolution of the mystery of what happened to the woman in the library, knowing the resolution of the mystery was only part of what made this read interesting.

The narrative, though centered around the facts — or supposed facts — of this murder mystery is very character-driven, and I loved that! Particularly in the emails from Leo, as he had such a distinct (and irritating, to be honest!) voice. And the way he developed through the book… I still have goosebumps.

Seriously, this book is probably one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year. It’s far from perfect, but I can’t even bring myself to point out its imperfections because it was just such a fun, interesting, and unique experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC for review.

This book was so fun, so unique, and so compelling. The way it demanded my full attention is something I haven't really ever experienced before.

At the center of it all, The Woman in the Library is a murder mystery. Four strangers meet one morning in the Boston Public Library and are all disturbed from their work by a sudden scream. We're told by the narrator that the murderer is among this new group of friends, creating a locked room mystery of a sort.

The mystery itself is interesting and well-plotted, but the really compelling part of this book is the structure. It's told in alternating parts - this scene in the library turns out to be the opening chapter of a novel by an author an Australian author named Hannah, who sends her pages to a critique partner of sorts in the US, named Leo. The second perspective is in the form of letters from Leo, with his responses to each chapter, providing her with feedback, helpful information about the Boston area, tips on how Americans would phrase things, and his ideas on where he thinks the story will or should go.

For a further layer, our main character herself, Freddie, is also a novelist. She uses the situation as inspiration, assigning her new friends temporary nicknames - Handsome Man, Freud Girl, Heroic Chin - and they develop as characters in her brainstorming sessions alongside the knowledge she gains as their investigations & friendship develop in real life. It's another way the book winds around on itself - the main characters are also characters in Freddie's novel, and Freddie herself is a character in Hannah's novel, and Hannah's novel is the subject of Leo's critique, and it's all the framework for The Woman in the Library as a whole, and right in the middle, there's a murder to solve. It's an absolute tangle, and I loved it.

While the structure was the standout part of this book for me, the mystery was also right up my alley as well. It was well-plotted and gratifying in exactly the way I enjoy. Just enough information was spread along throughout the book that reveals felt earned, and I felt "in on it" when they came along - they weren't foreshadowed in such a way that when I began to suspect, I felt spoiled, but rather vindicated and stupidly pleased with myself. I don't know if I'm explaining that clearly, but I assume someone will know what I mean - the author regularly drops bits that get you thinking of various theories, not believing you have it all figured out. It kept me engaged all the way through.

My feelings are overwhelmingly positive, though I'm not 100% sure how I feel about the ultimate wrap up. If I think about it too much, I might consider it a bit rushed, a bit convenient, or suffering from a slight fumble just short of the end zone. However, on balance, I had such a good, engaging time reading this, was so absorbed, and found it so unique, that ultimately I give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.

Two stories in one?! A treat! The major focus story is about our MC who is an Australian writer living in Boston and one day while in the Boston Public Library a woman screams. Joined by her 3 table mates the MC tries to solve this mystery. The second story is Leo, a beta reader, replying to our author of the mystery novel with his opinions on each chapter. Leo’s emails are the end cap to every chapter as if he was experiencing the book with you. This is very difficult to explain, but I promise you that while reading it makes more sense.

I was intrigued the whole time. When I go into mystery/thriller type books I just want the journey so I personally try to not guess anything. That way I’m always shocked at the end. The concept of this book is interesting, but some of the things Leo had to say about the chapter made me confused because of the writing style. A few of the misdirections seemed to just be more annoying than mysterious.

I did really enjoy this though, I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen with both stories being told. Some of the writing just didn’t work for me and that is why this book did not sit super high on my rating.

3.5 stars. Thank you for allowing me an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When you finish a mystery, the first thought isn't usually "hmm, that was an interesting structure." But that's the case with "The Woman in the Library," in which Sulari Gentill follows four new friends as they investigate the death of a woman whose scream united them in the Boston Public Library. (One is a murderer, we are told in the first pages.) But Gentill intersperses emails -- helpful, pushy, ultimately threatening -- sent by a "fan" to the author of the story that's unfolding. So, we get two stories in ne, or maybe three, if you add a sweet budding romance.

I gave this book several starts, started completely over twice, then picked up where I left off at least 3 times and just could not keep my interest in it. Quite a few characters to keep track of and it seemed the scream was the main happening. I had to give up. I am sure this murder mystery will be great for some readers, just not me.

I want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an e-galley of this book to read and give my honest review.
First off, being a bibliophile, how could I not want to pick this book up? A book whose premise starts in a library. I had to read it. Second, the idea of meeting friends in a library? SIGN ME UP! I've been very into mysteries lately, so once I read the blurb, I had to see what this one was about. Plus it's an author I have never read and I like to try new authors!
Fast forward to a few chapters in and I'm really intrigued. The author is receiving emails from a long time fan and reader who wants to read the work she's writing. But half way through, things become a little creepy, and then all out stalkery and there went my love of it. I didn't understand what the point of the correspondence was. It didn't add anything to the story for me. Couple that with huge plot holes and the introduction of information that for sure seemed pertinent but never played out and you end up with a book I just didn't love. I tried, I really did.
I could not connect with the characters. Their fast friendship seemed almost forced. They went from a short chat in the library about a scream (the thing that ultimately throws them together, in more ways than the reader won't realize until the end) to suddenly spending all their time together, as if there were no other people in their lives. It's not relatable, it's not understandable, it just didn't even make sense. And there was nothing all that unique about any of these people. Not one of them made me like them, or hate them, in any way. Zero connection which lead to not really caring what happened to any of them.
Then add to it how convoluted the story becomes. It made it really hard to keep things straight and to get into the story.
And the ending? I'm not even sure what the author was trying to do with the ending. I get it was supposed to initiate some kind of suspense and leave you guessing but I didn't really understand what even happened.
The writer has potential, though she needs to tighten things up. The main character is an author who doesn't plot and I'm wondering if this was a hint at the actual author herself because with all the holes she left, it seems like she didn't plot it out to make sure it all made sense.
Overall, I'm disappointed to say this was not my cup of tea.